Method and system for waveguide delay based equalization with optical splitting in optical communication

ABSTRACT

Methods and systems for waveguide delay based equalization with optical splitting in optical communication may include an optoelectronic circuit comprising an input waveguide, a directional coupler, an optical delay, photodetectors, a current mirror, and a transimpedance amplifier. The optoelectronic circuit may receive an input optical signal via the input waveguide, split the input optical signal into first and second output signals using the directional coupler, delay the first output signal using the optical delay, convert the delayed first output signal to a first electrical signal using a first photodetector, convert the second output signal to a second electrical signal using a second photodetector, amplify the second electrical signal using the current mirror, and sum the first and second electrical signals at inputs of the transimpedance amplifier to generate an output voltage.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS/INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE

This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 16/100,508filed on Aug. 10, 2018, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,554,311, which claimspriority to and the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application 62/544,791filed on Aug. 12, 2017, each of which is hereby incorporated herein byreference in its entirety.

FIELD

Aspects of the present disclosure relate to electronic components. Morespecifically, certain implementations of the present disclosure relateto methods and systems for waveguide delay based equalization withoptical splitting in optical communication.

BACKGROUND

Conventional approaches for signal equalization may be costly,cumbersome, and/or inefficient—e.g., they may be complex and/or timeconsuming, and/or may have limited responsivity due to losses.

Further limitations and disadvantages of conventional and traditionalapproaches will become apparent to one of skill in the art, throughcomparison of such systems with some aspects of the present disclosureas set forth in the remainder of the present application with referenceto the drawings.

BRIEF SUMMARY

System and methods are provided for waveguide delay based equalizationwith optical splitting in optical communication, substantially as shownin and/or described in connection with at least one of the figures, asset forth more completely in the claims.

These and other advantages, aspects and novel features of the presentdisclosure, as well as details of an illustrated embodiment thereof,will be more fully understood from the following description anddrawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A is a block diagram of a photonically-enabled integrated circuitwith waveguide delay based equalization using optical splitting inoptical communication, in accordance with an example embodiment of thedisclosure.

FIG. 1B is a diagram illustrating an exemplary photonically-enabledintegrated circuit, in accordance with an example embodiment of thedisclosure.

FIG. 1C is a diagram illustrating a photonically-enabled integratedcircuit coupled to an optical fiber cable, in accordance with an exampleembodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 2 illustrates an equalizer, in accordance with an exampleembodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 3 illustrates signal weighting for an equalizer, in accordance withan example embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 4 illustrates a one-tap precursor equalizer with optical andelectrical weight control, in accordance with an example embodiment ofthe disclosure.

FIG. 5A Illustrates a one-tap pre-cursor, one-tap post-cursor equalizer,in accordance with an example embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 5B Illustrates another example of a one-tap pre-cursor, one-tappost-cursor equalizer, in accordance with an example embodiment of thedisclosure.

FIG. 6 illustrates a waveguide delay-based single-ended to differentialcircuit, in accordance with an example embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 7 illustrates another example of a waveguide delay-basedsingle-ended to differential circuit, in accordance with an exampleembodiment of the disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

As utilized herein the terms “circuits” and “circuitry” refer tophysical electronic components (i.e. hardware) and any software and/orfirmware (“code”) which may configure the hardware, be executed by thehardware, and or otherwise be associated with the hardware. As usedherein, for example, a particular processor and memory may comprise afirst “circuit” when executing a first one or more lines of code and maycomprise a second “circuit” when executing a second one or more lines ofcode. As utilized herein, “and/or” means any one or more of the items inthe list joined by “and/or”. As an example, “x and/or y” means anyelement of the three-element set {(x), (y), (x, y)}. In other words, “xand/or y” means “one or both of x and y”. As another example, “x, y,and/or z” means any element of the seven-element set {(x), (y), (z), (x,y), (x, z), (y, z), (x, y, z)}. In other words, “x, y and/or z” means“one or more of x, y and z”. As utilized herein, the term “exemplary”means serving as a non-limiting example, instance, or illustration. Asutilized herein, the terms “e.g.,” and “for example” set off lists ofone or more non-limiting examples, instances, or illustrations. Asutilized herein, circuitry or a device is “operable” to perform afunction whenever the circuitry or device comprises the necessaryhardware and code (if any is necessary) to perform the function,regardless of whether performance of the function is disabled or notenabled (e.g., by a user-configurable setting, factory trim, etc.).

FIG. 1A is a block diagram of a photonically-enabled integrated circuitwith waveguide delay based equalization using optical splitting inoptical communication, in accordance with an example embodiment of thedisclosure. Referring to FIG. 1A, there is shown optical andoptoelectronic devices on a photonically-enabled integrated circuit 130comprising optical modulators 105A-105D, photodiodes 111A-111D, monitorphotodiodes 113A-113H, and optical devices comprising couplers103A-103K, optical terminations 115A-115D, directional couplers 121, andgrating couplers 117A-117H. There are also shown electrical devices andcircuits comprising amplifiers 107A-107D, analog and digital controlcircuits 109, and control sections 112A-112D. The amplifiers 107A-107Dmay comprise transimpedance and limiting amplifiers (TIA/LAs), forexample.

In an example scenario, the photonically-enabled integrated circuit 130comprises one or more CMOS die with a laser assembly 101 coupled to thetop surface of the IC 130. The laser assembly 101 may comprise one ormore semiconductor lasers with isolators, lenses, and/or rotators fordirecting one or more continuous wave (“CW”) optical signals to thecoupler 103A. The photonically enabled integrated circuit 130 maycomprise a single die (chip), or may be integrated on a plurality of die(chips), such as one or more electronics die and one or more photonicsdie.

Optical signals are communicated between optical and optoelectronicdevices via optical waveguides 110 fabricated in thephotonically-enabled integrated circuit 130. Single-mode or multi-modewaveguides may be used in photonic integrated circuits. Single-modeoperation enables direct connection to optical signal processing andnetworking elements. The term “single-mode” may be used for waveguidesthat support a single mode for each of the two polarizations,transverse-electric (TE) and transverse-magnetic (TM), or for waveguidesthat are truly single mode and only support one mode whose polarizationis TE, which comprises an electric field parallel to the substratesupporting the waveguides. Two typical waveguide cross-sections that areutilized comprise strip waveguides and rib waveguides. Strip waveguidestypically comprise a rectangular cross-section, whereas rib waveguidescomprise a rib section on top of a waveguide slab. Of course, otherwaveguide cross section types are also contemplated and within the scopeof the disclosure.

In an example scenario, the couplers 103A-103C may comprise low-lossY-junction power splitters where coupler 103A receives an optical signalfrom the laser assembly 101 and splits the signal to two branches thatdirect the optical signals to the couplers 103B and 103C, which splitthe optical signal once more, resulting in four roughly equal poweroptical signals.

The optical power splitter may comprise at least one input waveguide andat least two output waveguides. The couplers 103A-103C shown in FIG. 1Aillustrates 1-by-2 splitters, which divide the optical power in onewaveguide into two other waveguides evenly. These Y-junction splittersmay be used in multiple locations in an optoelectronic system, such asin a Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI) modulator, e.g., the opticalmodulators 105A-105D, where a splitter and a combiner are needed, sincea power combiner can be a splitter used in reverse.

The optical modulators 105A-105D comprise Mach-Zehnder or ringmodulators, for example, and enable the modulation of thecontinuous-wave (CW) laser input signal. The optical modulators105A-105D may comprise high-speed and low-speed phase modulationsections and are controlled by the control sections 112A-112D. Thehigh-speed phase modulation section of the optical modulators 105A-105Dmay modulate a CW light source signal with a data signal. The low-speedphase modulation section of the optical modulators 105A-105D maycompensate for slowly varying phase factors such as those induced bymismatch between the waveguides, waveguide temperature, or waveguidestress and is referred to as the passive phase, or the passive biasingof the MZI.

In an example scenario, the high-speed optical phase modulators mayoperate based on the free carrier dispersion effect and may demonstratea high overlap between the free carrier modulation region and theoptical mode. High-speed phase modulation of an optical mode propagatingin a waveguide is the building block of several types of signal encodingused for high data rate optical communications. Speed in the tens ofGb/s may be required to sustain the high data rates used in modernoptical links and can be achieved in integrated Si photonics bymodulating the depletion region of a PN junction placed across thewaveguide carrying the optical beam. In order to increase the modulationefficiency and minimize the loss, the overlap between the optical modeand the depletion region of the PN junction is optimized.

The outputs of the optical modulators 105A-105D may be optically coupledvia the waveguides 110 to the grating couplers 117E-117H. The couplers103D-103K may comprise four-port optical couplers, for example, and maybe utilized to sample or split the optical signals generated by theoptical modulators 105A-105D, with the sampled signals being measured bythe monitor photodiodes 113A-113H. The unused branches of thedirectional couplers 103D-103K may be terminated by optical terminations115A-115D to avoid back reflections of unwanted signals.

The grating couplers 117A-117H comprise optical gratings that enablecoupling of light into and out of the photonically-enabled integratedcircuit 130. The grating couplers 117A-117D may be utilized to couplelight received from optical fibers into the photonically-enabledintegrated circuit 130, and the grating couplers 117E-117H may beutilized to couple light from the photonically-enabled integratedcircuit 130 into optical fibers. The grating couplers 117A-117H maycomprise single polarization grating couplers (SPGC) and/or polarizationsplitting grating couplers (PSGC). In instances where a PSGC isutilized, two input, or output, waveguides may be utilized.

The optical fibers may be epoxied, for example, to the CMOS chip, andmay be aligned at an angle from normal to the surface of thephotonically-enabled integrated circuit 130 to optimize couplingefficiency. In an example embodiment, the optical fibers may comprisesingle-mode fiber (SMF) and/or polarization-maintaining fiber (PMF).

In another example embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1B, optical signalsmay be communicated directly into the surface of thephotonically-enabled integrated circuit 130 without optical fibers bydirecting a light source on an optical coupling device in the chip, suchas the light source interface 135 and/or the optical fiber interface139. This may be accomplished with directed laser sources and/or opticalsources on another chip flip-chip bonded to the photonically-enabledintegrated circuit 130.

The directional couplers 121 may receive an optical signal in one ormore inputs and couple output optical signals to one or more outputs. Inthis manner, a single optical signal may be split between two outputwaveguides 110, for example. In addition the directional couplers 121 orwaveguides 110 may comprise optical delay elements to enable opticalequalization in conjunction with the photodiodes 111A-111D andamplifiers 107A-107D. This is shown further with respect to FIGS. 3-7.The photodiodes 111A-111D may convert optical signals received from thegrating couplers 117A-117D, via the directional couplers 121, intoelectrical signals that are communicated to the amplifiers 107A-107D forprocessing.

In the receiver subsystem implemented in a silicon chip, light is oftencoupled into a photodetector via a polarization-splitting gratingcoupler that supports coupling all polarization states of the fiber modeefficiently. The incoming signal is split by the PSGC into two separatewaveguides in a polarization-diversity scheme, and therefore both inputsto the waveguide photodetectors are used. If two different PSGCs arerequired to couple into the same photodetector, then the photodetectorhas four separate waveguide ports.

The analog and digital control circuits 109 may control gain levels orother parameters in the operation of the amplifiers 107A-107D, which maythen communicate electrical signals off the photonically-enabledintegrated circuit 130. The control sections 112A-112D compriseelectronic circuitry that enable modulation of the CW laser signalreceived from the splitters 103A-103C. The optical modulators 105A-105Dmay require high-speed electrical signals to modulate the refractiveindex in respective branches of a Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI), forexample. In an example embodiment, the control sections 112A-112D mayinclude sink and/or source driver electronics that may enable abidirectional link utilizing a single laser.

In operation, the photonically-enabled integrated circuit 130 may beoperable to transmit and/or receive and process optical signals. Opticalsignals may be received from optical fibers by the grating couplers117A-117D and converted to electrical signals by the photodetectors111A-111D. The electrical signals may be amplified by transimpedanceamplifiers in the amplifiers 107A-107D, for example, and subsequentlycommunicated to other electronic circuitry, not shown, in thephotonically-enabled integrated circuit 130.

Integrated photonics platforms allow the full functionality of anoptical transceiver to be integrated on a single chip. An opticaltransceiver chip contains optoelectronic circuits that create andprocess the optical/electrical signals on the transmitter (Tx) and thereceiver (Rx) sides, as well as optical interfaces that couple theoptical signals to and from a fiber. In another embodiment, thephotonically-enabled integrated photonic circuit 130 may be divided intodifferent die, with electronics on one or more die, and optical andoptoelectronic devices on a photonics die. The signal processingfunctionality may include modulating the optical carrier, detecting theoptical signal, splitting or combining data streams, and multiplexing ordemultiplexing data on carriers with different wavelengths, andequalizing signals for reducing and/or eliminating inter-symbolinterference (ISI), which may be a common impairment in opticalcommunication systems.

ISI may be introduced by a channel and/or the transmitter/receiver ofthe optical system, and can limit the maximum speed of the communicationsystem. An equalizer may be utilized to mitigate ISI, and may comprisewaveguide delay-based equalization. Equalizers may utilize delayelements and weight elements applied to each delayed signal, which maythen be summed for an equalized signal with mitigated ISI. In an examplescenario, this delay may be accomplished with optical delay and weightcontrol may be enabled through electrical and/or optical means.

In an example scenario, weighting in the equalizers may be implementedopto-electrically, in that a phase modulator may be incorporated in oneor more arms of an interferometer, resulting in a configurable splittingratio for the main and FFE paths of the equalizer.

FIG. 1B is a diagram illustrating an exemplary photonically-enabledintegrated circuit, in accordance with an example embodiment of thedisclosure. Referring to FIG. 1B, there is shown thephotonically-enabled integrated circuit 130 comprising electronicdevices/circuits 131, optical and optoelectronic devices 133, a lightsource interface 135, a chip front surface 137, an optical fiberinterface 139, CMOS guard ring 141, and a surface-illuminated monitorphotodiode 143.

The light source interface 135 and the optical fiber interface 139comprise grating couplers, for example, that enable coupling of lightsignals via the CMOS chip surface 137, as opposed to the edges of thechip as with conventional edge-emitting/receiving devices. Couplinglight signals via the chip surface 137 enables the use of the CMOS guardring 141 which protects the chip mechanically and prevents the entry ofcontaminants via the chip edge.

The electronic devices/circuits 131 comprise circuitry such as theamplifiers 107A-107D and the analog and digital control circuits 109described with respect to FIG. 1A, for example. The optical andoptoelectronic devices 133 comprise devices such as the couplers103A-103K, optical terminations 115A-115D, grating couplers 117A-117H,optical modulators 105A-105D, high-speed heterojunction photodiodes111A-111D, and monitor photodiodes 113A-113I.

FIG. 1C is a diagram illustrating a photonically-enabled integratedcircuit coupled to an optical fiber cable, in accordance with an exampleembodiment of the disclosure. Referring to FIG. 1C, there is shown thephotonically-enabled integrated circuit 130 comprising the chip surface137, and the CMOS guard ring 141. There is also shown a fiber-to-chipcoupler 145, an optical fiber cable 149, and an optical source assembly147.

The photonically-enabled integrated circuit 130 comprises the electronicdevices/circuits 131, the optical and optoelectronic devices 133, thelight source interface 135, the chip surface 137, and the CMOS guardring 141 may be as described with respect to FIG. 1B.

In an example embodiment, the optical fiber cable may be affixed, viaepoxy for example, to the CMOS chip surface 137. The fiber chip coupler145 enables the physical coupling of the optical fiber cable 149 to thephotonically-enabled integrated circuit 130. In another examplescenario, the IC 130 may comprise photonic devices on one die, such as aphotonics interposer, and electrical devices on an electronics die, bothof which may comprise CMOS die.

FIG. 2 illustrates an equalizer, in accordance with an exampleembodiment of the disclosure. Referring to FIG. 2, there is shown anequalizer 200 receiving an input signal u(t), which represents anoriginal clean signal that is subject to the transfer function h(t) of achannel, either Tx or Rx, resulting in a signal with inter-symbolinterference (ISI), which may occur in optical communication systems,and may limit the maximum speed of the communication system.

The equalizer 200 comprises a plurality of delay elements 203A-203F,multipliers 205A-205E, weight functions 207A-207E, and a summer 209. Theequalizer 200 may generate a delayed version of the original signal r(t)with unintentional ISI utilizing delay elements 203A-203F, resulting indelayed signals s(t). The delayed signals s(t) may each be weightedindependently, with W_(N) being either positive or negative, using themultipliers 205A-205E and weight functions 207A-207E, and then summedusing the summer 209 generating an output signal v(t). Theoretically,this structure may remove all ISI in a communication system, although inpractical situations, non-idealities may be encountered. Thesenon-idealities may include noise added to the system, non-linearity ofelements, variation in delay elements to the symbol period Ts, theweight W_(N) may not be controllable or accurate, or the summation maynot be accurate.

In an example embodiment of the disclosure, the weight, delay, andsumming elements may be implemented in the optical domain or acombination of optical and electrical, as described further with respectto FIGS. 3-7.

FIG. 3 illustrates signal weighting for an equalizer, in accordance withan example embodiment of the disclosure. Referring to FIG. 3, there isshown equalizer 300 comprising input waveguide 301A, a directionalcoupler 303, main and equalized waveguides 301B and 301C, photodiodes307A and 307B, and a current mirror 305A and 305B coupled to eachphotodiode 307A and 307B. The directional coupler 303 may comprise astabilized directional coupler with slightly increased length in one armof the coupler to mitigate process variations or other causes ofnon-uniformity in optical coupling.

The directional coupler 303 may split the input signal λ_(in), into twooptical signals, λ_(main) and λ_(eq), with reasonable precision, and mayalso comprise a phase modulator 310 comprising a section with p- andn-type regions adjacent to the waveguide for providing a change indielectric constant with bias, and thus a phase change for the opticalsignal traveling through the phase modulator 310. The input opticalsignal, λ_(in), may be split by the directional coupler 303 intoλ_(main) and λ_(eq) output signals, where λ_(eq) may comprise apercentage X of the input signal and λ_(main) comprises 100−X.

Although a single directional coupler 303 with two outputs is shown, thedisclosure is not so limited, as multiple directional couplers may beutilized to generate multiple output optical signals. The two opticalpaths λ_(main) and λ_(eq) may be separately converted into electricalcurrent signals using the photodiodes 307A and 307B, and the currentmirrors 305A and 305B each may amplify the current signal from itscorresponding photodiode.

The current mirrors 305A and 305B may comprise two or more CMOStransistors where a drain current through a first CMOS transistor fromthe associated photodiode is mirrored to the drain of a second CMOStransistor with common gate coupling. The current mirrors 305A and 305Bare shown in FIG. 3 as NMOS devices with a supply voltage connected tothe photodiode anode, but can also be configured with PMOS devices withground connected to the photodiode cathode. The current mirrors may be asimple current mirror, or complex current mirror with many devices,where the device mirrors current with a ratio.

The amplification by the current mirrors 305A and 305B may be controlledelectrically, such as by configuring gate voltages of CMOS transistorsin the current mirror. The overall weight of the equalizer 300 maytherefore be implemented with optical and electronic means, namely theoptical splitting via directional coupler 303 and electricalamplification of the current mirrors 305A and 305B. With the weightedoptical signals converted to electrical current signals, the currentsmay be summed by shorting the nodes together, such as at the outputs ofthe current mirrors 305A and 305B.

In addition, one or more photodetectors with multiple waveguide inputsmay be utilized for signal summation, as illustrated by the multi-portphotodetector 307 in the lower inset of FIG. 3, which comprises awaveguide photodiode with two inputs shown, although other number ofinputs is possible. Multi-port photodetectors are described in moredetail in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/592,774, which is herebyincorporated by reference in its entirety.

FIG. 4 illustrates a one-tap precursor equalizer with optical andelectrical weight control, in accordance with an example embodiment ofthe disclosure. Referring to FIG. 4, there is shown equalizer 400comprising input waveguide 401A, main and FFE waveguides 401B and 401C,a directional coupler 403, a waveguide delay 409, a pair of photodiodes407A and 407B, a current mirror 405, and a transimpedance amplifier(TIA) 411. The directional coupler 403, waveguides 401A-401C, currentmirror 405, photodiodes 407A and 407B may be share any and all aspectsof the directional coupler 303, waveguides 301A-301C, current mirror305, and photodiodes 307, 307A and 307B described with respect to FIG.3.

The waveguide delay 409 may comprise an appropriate length waveguide forcreating an accurate delay without significant optical power loss. In atypical silicon photonics system, the waveguide delay may comprise a 3mm waveguide, for example, which may result in ˜40 ps of delay, suitablefor a 25G symbol per second signal. The TIA 411 may comprise a gainstage with a feedback impedance comprising a resistor, capacitive,and/or active elements, generating an output voltage proportional to theinput current I_(EQ).

In the example scenario of FIG. 4, one-tap precursor equalization may beenabled using summation through current summing and weight control viathe directional coupler 403 and current mirror 405. The weight controlof the directional coupler 403 may be configurable through control ofthe phase modulator 410. This electro-optical weight adjustment allowshigh precision equalization weight optimization as part of a signalprocessing technique used in data recovery. For example, the eyeopening, via correlation between recovering bit and previous or nextbit, may be monitored and maximized by adjusting the weight of theequalization through the phase modulator 410, as well as through thecurrent mirror 405.

Example advantages of the current mirror type of weight control are thatthe current mirror 405 may be accurately adjustable, such as bycontrolling gate voltages in the current mirror 405, for accurate weightcontrol of the precursor tap, accurate summing may be possible in thecurrent domain at inputs of the TIA 411, for example, and an accuratedelay, waveguide delay 409, between the main and precursor tap may bemaintained with less variation and power required compared to delay inthe electrical domain.

In operation, an input optical signal λ_(IN) may be communicated to thedirectional coupler 403 via input waveguide 401A, and portions of thisinput signal may be communicated to each of the output waveguides 401Band 401C via the directional coupler 403, with the splitting ratiodefined by the coupling ratios of the couplers in the directionalcoupler 403 and further configured by adjusting the phase modulator 410.Output waveguide 401B may be utilized to couple the directional coupler403 to the waveguide delay 409 and subsequently to the photodiode 407A,while the other output waveguide 401C is coupled directly to photodiode407B. The resulting electrical signal from photodiode 407B may becoupled to current mirror 405, with the difference current, I_(EQ),between the output I_(FFE) of the current mirror 405 and the outputI_(main) of the photodiode 407A coupled to the output TIA 411, resultingin an equalized output voltage V_(EQ).

As with the equalizer 300 of FIG. 3, the amplification by the currentmirror 405 in the equalizer 400 may be controlled electrically, such asby configuring gate voltages of CMOS transistors in the current mirror405, for example. The overall weight of the equalizer 400 may thereforebe implemented with optical and electronic means, where the opticalmeans comprise the optical splitting via directional coupler 403 andadjusted by phase modulator 410, with delay being provided by thewaveguide delay 409, while the electrical means comprise electricalamplification of the current mirror 405. With the weighted opticalsignals converted to electrical current signals, the currents may besummed by coupling both nodes at the input of the TIA 411.

The adjustable current mirror 405 that provides current amplificationenables less signal needed to be tapped from the main path andeliminates extra loading of the sensitive signal path after current tovoltage conversion at the TIA 411. This structure also allows theequalization to be powered down completely and can be extended toadditional equalization taps if desired. To this end, furtherdirectional couplers may be incorporated with additional delay lines,current mirrors, and photodetectors for each additional tap, asillustrated by the multi-tap equalizer schematic in FIG. 2, for example.

FIG. 5A Illustrates a one-tap pre-cursor, one-tap post-cursor equalizer,in accordance with an example embodiment of the disclosure. Referring toFIG. 5A, there is shown equalizer 500 comprising waveguides 501A-501E,directional couplers 503A and 503B, waveguide delays 509A and 509B,photodiodes 507A and 507B, a current mirror 505, delay lines 509A and509B, and a TIA 511.

The directional couplers 503A and 503B, waveguides 501A-501E, currentmirror 505, photodiodes 507A and 507B may be share any and all aspectsof the directional couplers, waveguides, current mirrors, andphotodiodes described with respect to FIGS. 3 and 4, for example. Thedirectional couplers 503A and 503B may each comprise a phase modulator510A and 510B, respectively, for configuring the splitting ratios of thedirectional couplers 503A and 503B. In this manner, the weighting of theequalizer 500 may also be configured electro-optically.

The waveguide delays 509A and 509B may each comprise an appropriatelength waveguide for creating an accurate delay without significantoptical power loss. In an example scenario, the 509B delay is greaterthan that of 509A to enable post-cursor equalization through the delay509B path. The TIA 511 may comprise a gain stage with a feedbackimpedance comprising a resistor, capacitive, and/or active elements,generating an output voltage proportional to the input current I_(EQ).

An input optical signal λ_(in) may be received on input waveguide 501Aand a portion of the signal may be coupled to each of the outputwaveguides 501B and 501C of the first directional coupler 503A, with theratio being tuned via the phase modulator 510A. One output waveguide501B may be coupled to delay waveguide 509A and subsequently tophotodiode 507A. The other output waveguide 501C may be coupled tosecond directional coupler 503B with phase modulator 510B forconfiguring the splitting ratio. The outputs of second directionalcoupler 503B may be coupled to the photodiode 507B via waveguide 501Dand also to second waveguide delay 509B via waveguide 501E, which issubsequently coupled to the photodiode 507B. The photodiode 507Bcomprises a two input port photodiode in this embodiment, as illustratedin the example structure shown in the lower inset of FIG. 5A.

As a two-port photodiode, photodiode 507B provides optical summing ofthe input optical signals λ_(pre) and λ_(pst). The current of thephotodiode 507B may be amplified/mirrored by the current mirror 505,which may be summed with the current from the photodiode 507A at the TIA511. The difference current, I_(EQ), between the output I_(pre+pst) ofthe current mirror 505 and the output I_(main) of the photodiode 507Amay be coupled to the output TIA 511, resulting in an equalized outputvoltage V_(EQ).

The one-tap pre-cursor, one-tap post-cursor equalization equalizer 500may utilize both current and optical summing and provide weight controlwith configurable directional couplers 503A and 503B and a currentmirror 505. Example advantages of this embodiment are that the currentmirror 505 may be accurately adjustable for accurate weight control ofthe precursor tap, such as by configuring gate voltages of CMOStransistors in the current mirror 505 accurate summing may be possiblein the current domain at the outputs of the photodiodes 507A and 507B,and an accurate delay between the main and precursor tap may bemaintained with less variation and power required than when done in theelectrical domain. Further example advantages provided by the phasemodulator weight control comprise high precision equalization weightoptimization, as part of standard signal processing techniques used indata recovery.

As with the equalizers 300 and 400 of FIGS. 3 and 4, the amplificationby the current mirror 505 in the equalizer 500 may be controlledelectrically. The overall weight of the equalizer 500 may therefore beimplemented with optical and electronic means, with the optical meanscomprising the optical splitting via directional couplers 503A and 503Bwith electrical control of splitting ratio, delay provided by the delaywaveguides 509A and 509B, and optical summing by the photodiode 507B,while the electrical means comprise electrical amplification of thecurrent mirror 505. With the weighted optical signals converted toelectrical current signals, the currents may be summed by coupling bothnodes at the input of the TIA 511.

Further example advantages of the embodiment shown in FIG. 5A are thatan adjustable current mirror 505 with amplification allows for lesssignal to be tapped from the main path λ_(main), and the equalizationpath may be shut down completely if desired, eliminating extra loadingof the sensitive signal path after current to voltage conversion by theTIA. Finally, the one-tap pre-cursor, one-tap post-cursor equalizationequalizer 500 may achieve multi-tap equalization with a singlephotodiode/current mirror structure and may be extended to additionalequalization steps if desired. To this end, further directional couplersmay be incorporated with additional delay lines, current mirrors, andphotodetectors for each additional tap, as illustrated by the multi-tapequalizer schematic in FIG. 2, for example.

FIG. 5B Illustrates another example of a one-tap pre-cursor, one-tappost-cursor equalizer, in accordance with an example embodiment of thedisclosure. Referring to FIG. 5B, there is shown equalizer 550comprising waveguides 501A-501E, two directional couplers 503A and 503B,two waveguide delays 509A and 509B, two photodiodes 507A-507C, a currentmirror 505, delay lines 509A and 509B, and a TIA 511.

The directional couplers 503A and 503B, waveguides 501A-501E, currentmirror 505, photodiodes 507A-507C may be share any and all aspects ofthe directional couplers, waveguides, current mirrors, and photodiodesdescribed with respect to FIGS. 3, 4, and 5A, for example. Thedirectional couplers 503A and 503B may each comprise a phase modulator510A and 510B, respectively, for configuring the splitting ratios of thedirectional couplers 503A and 503B. In this manner, the weighting of theequalizer 500 may also be configured electro-optically.

The waveguide delays 509A and 509B may each comprise an appropriatelength waveguide for creating an accurate delay without significantoptical power loss. In an example scenario, the 509B delay is greaterthan that of 509A to enable post-cursor equalization through the delay509B path. The TIA 511 may comprise a gain stage with a feedbackimpedance comprising a resistor and/or active elements, generating anoutput voltage proportional to the input current I_(EQ).

In operation, an input optical signal λ_(in) may be received on inputwaveguide 501A and a portion of the signal may be coupled to each of theoutput waveguides 501B and 501C of the first directional coupler 503A,with the splitting ratio being configured by the phase modulator 510A.One output waveguide 501B of the directional coupler 503A may be coupledto delay waveguide 509A and subsequently to photodiode 507A. The otheroutput waveguide 501C may be coupled to second directional coupler 503B,with the splitting ratio configured by the phase modulator 510B. Theoutputs of the directional coupler 503B may be coupled to the photodiode507B via waveguide 501D and to second waveguide delay 509B via waveguide501E, which is subsequently coupled to the photodiode 507C. The outputvoltage V_(EQ) may be processed, using software and/or hardware to thenadjust weight at various devices, such as the phase modulators 510A/510Band/or current mirror 505, for example.

In the example shown in FIG. 5B, as compared to the example shown inFIG. 5A, the multi-port photodiode 507B is replaced with two photodiodes507B and 507C, with their output currents summed by coupling theiroutput terminals, cathodes in this example, and then mirrored by thecurrent mirror 505. The resulting current may be summed with the currentfrom the photodiode 507A at the TIA 511. The difference current, I_(EQ),between the output I_(pre+pst) of the current mirror 505 and the outputI_(main) of the photodiode 507A may be coupled to the output TIA 511,resulting in an equalized output voltage V_(EQ).

The one-tap pre-cursor, one-tap post-cursor equalization equalizer 550may utilize current summing and provide weight control with phasemodulator configured directional couplers 503A and 503B and electricallycontrolled current mirror 505. Example advantages of this embodiment arethat the phase modulator weight control provides high precisionequalization weight optimization as part of standard signal processingtechniques used in data recovery, the current mirror 505 may beaccurately adjustable, such as by configuring gate voltages of CMOStransistors in the current mirror 505, for accurate weight control ofthe precursor tap, accurate summing may be possible in the currentdomain at the outputs of the photodiodes 507A-507C, and an accuratedelay between the main and precursor tap may be maintained with lessvariation and power required than when done in the electrical domain.

As with the equalizers 300 and 400 of FIGS. 3 and 4, the amplificationby the current mirror 505 in the equalizer 550 may be controlledelectrically. The overall weight of the equalizer 550 may therefore beimplemented with optical and electronic means, with the optical meanscomprising the optical splitting via directional couplers 503A and 503Bconfigured by the phase modulators 510A and 510B and optical delayprovided by the delay waveguides 509A and 509B, while the electricalmeans comprise electrical amplification of the current mirror 505 andcurrent summing of the output currents of the photodiodes 507A-507C.

Further example advantages of the embodiment shown in FIG. 5B are thatan adjustable current mirror 505 with amplification allows for lesssignal to be tapped from the main path λ_(main), as controlled by thephase modulators 510A and 510B, and the equalization path may be shutdown completely if desired, eliminating extra loading of the sensitivesignal path after current to voltage conversion by the TIA. The outputvoltage V_(EQ) may be processed, using software and/or hardware to thenadjust weight at various devices, such as the phase modulators510A/510B, current mirror 505, and/or TIA 511 for example.

Finally, the one-tap pre-cursor, one-tap post-cursor equalizationequalizer 550 may achieve multi-tap equalization with a multiplephotodiode/single current mirror structure and may be extended toadditional equalization steps if desired. To this end, furtherdirectional couplers may be incorporated with additional delay lines,current mirrors, and photodetectors for each additional tap, asillustrated by the multi-tap equalizer schematic in FIG. 2, for example.

FIG. 6 illustrates a waveguide delay-based single-ended to differentialcircuit, in accordance with an example embodiment of the disclosure.Referring to FIG. 6, there is shown equalizer 600 comprising inputwaveguide 601A, main and FFE waveguides 601B and 601C, a directionalcoupler 603, a waveguide delay 609, a pair of photodetectors 607A and607B, transimpedance amplifiers (TIAs) 605A and 605B, and gain stage611.

The waveguide delay 609 may comprise an appropriate length waveguide forcreating an accurate delay without significant optical power loss. In atypical silicon photonics system, the waveguide delay may comprise a 3mm waveguide, for example, which may result in ˜40 ps of delay, suitablefor a 25G symbol per second signal. The TIAs 605A and 605B may eachcomprise a gain stage with a feedback impedance comprising a resistor,capacitor, and/or active elements, generating an output voltageproportional to the input current.

In operation, an input optical signal, λ_(IN), may be communicated tothe directional coupler 603 via input waveguide 601A, and portions ofthis input signal may be communicated to each of the output waveguides601B and 601C via the directional coupler 603. Output waveguide 601B maybe utilized to couple the directional coupler 603 to the waveguide delay609 and subsequently to the photodetector 607A, while the other outputwaveguide 601C is coupled directly to photodetector 607B. The resultingelectrical signal from photodetector 607B may be coupled to TIA 605B.

The electrical currents generated by the photodetectors 607A and 607Bmay be coupled to the TIAs 605A and 605B, respectively, which maygenerate output voltages proportional to the difference of receivedphotocurrents I_(FFE) and I_(MAIN). While the example shown in FIG. 6shows the photodetectors with anode coupled to a supply voltage andcathode coupled to the TIAs, they may instead be configured with cathodecoupled to ground and anode coupled to the TIAs.

The gain stage 611 may amplify the voltages generated by the TIAs 605Aand 605B, thereby generating a differential output voltage proportionalto the difference of the two optical signals, and thus the equalizedversion of the input optical signal λ_(IN).

In an example scenario, the weight factors in the equalizing of thereceived signals may be implemented optically but controlledelectrically. To this end, the splitting ratio in the directionalcoupler 603 may be configured by controlling the bias of the phasemodulator 610. In addition, electrical weighting of the optical signalsλ_(main) and λ_(ffe) may be achieved by configuring the gain of the TIAs605A and 605B, as this configuring of the gain thus determines theweight of the optical signal that generated the photo-generated current.

The directional coupler 603 splits the received optical signal into twooptical signals with good precision controlled by the phase modulator610, and cascading directional couplers may be utilized to createmultiple optical signals. These optical paths may each be separatelyconverted by a photodetector to an electrical current signal.

In the example equalizer 600 of FIG. 6, the summing, in this casesumming with negative weight W, occurs after transimpedanceamplification, i.e., the differential voltage amplification by the gainstage 611. The main signal path with optical signal λ_(main) may beconverted to a single voltage signal using TIA 605A. This voltage isused as a positive voltage coupled to a voltage amplifier, gain stage611. Each weighted signal may be converted into current and thencombined, in this example λ_(FFE) being converted to a photo-generatedcurrent from the photodetector 607B. TIA 605B is then used to convertthe received current into a voltage, which may be used as a negativevoltage signal of a differential voltage amplifier, gain stage 611.Optionally, the gain of TIA 605B may be adjustable to further adjustgain. This voltage forms the negative voltage of a differential voltagesignal at the output of gain stage 611.

FIG. 7 illustrates another example of a waveguide delay-basedsingle-ended to differential circuit, in accordance with an exampleembodiment of the disclosure. Referring to FIG. 7, there is shownequalizer 700 comprising waveguides 701A-701E, two directional couplers703A and 703B, two waveguide delays 709A and 709B, two photodiodes707A-707C, a current mirror 705, delay lines 709A and 709B, TIAs 711Aand 711B, and gain stage 713.

The directional couplers 703A and 703B, waveguides 701A-701E, currentmirror 705, photodiodes 507A-507C, TIAs 711A and 711B, and gain stage713 may be share any and all aspects of the directional couplers,waveguides, photodiodes, TIAs, and gain stages described with respect toFIGS. 2-6, for example. Accordingly, the directional couplers 703A and703B comprise phase modulators 710A and 710B for configuring therelative magnitude of output signals at its outputs, i.e., the splittingratio. While the example shown in FIG. 7 shows the photodetectors withanode coupled to a supply voltage and cathode coupled to the TIAs, theymay instead be configured with cathode coupled to ground and anodecoupled to the TIAs.

The waveguide delays 709A and 709B may each comprise an appropriatelength waveguide for creating an accurate delay without significantoptical power loss. In an example scenario, the waveguide delay 709B isgreater than that of 709A to enable post-cursor equalization through thedelay 709B path. The TIAs 711A and 711B may comprise a gain stage with afeedback impedance comprising a resistor, capacitive, and/or activeelements, generating an output voltage proportional to the inputcurrent.

In operation, an input optical signal λ_(in) may be received on inputwaveguide 701A and a portion of the signal may be coupled to each of theoutput waveguides 701B and 701C of the first directional coupler 703A,with its splitting ratio tuned by the phase modulator 710A. One outputwaveguide 701B of the directional coupler 703A may be coupled to delaywaveguide 709A and subsequently to photodiode 707A. The other outputwaveguide 701C of the directional coupler 703A may be coupled to seconddirectional coupler 703B, with the directional coupler splitting ratioconfigured by the phase modulator 710B. The outputs of the directionalcoupler 703B may be coupled to the photodiode 707B via waveguide 701Dand to second waveguide delay 709B via waveguide 701E, which issubsequently coupled to the photodiode 707C.

In the example shown in FIG. 7, the two photodiodes 707B and 707Cgenerate output currents that are summed by coupling their outputterminals, cathodes in this example. The summed current may then beconverted to a voltage using the TIA 711B.

In the example equalizer 700 of FIG. 7, the summing, in this casesumming with negative weight W, occurs after transimpedanceamplification, i.e., the differential voltage amplification by the gainstage 713. The main signal path with optical signal λ_(main) may beconverted to a single voltage signal using TIA 711A. This voltage isused as a positive voltage coupled to a voltage amplifier, gain stage713. Each weighted signal may be converted into current and thencombined, in this example λ_(pre) being converted to a photo-generatedcurrent by the photodetector 707B and λ_(pst) being converted to aphoto-generated current by the photodetector 707C. TIA 711B is then usedto convert the received current into a voltage, which may be used as anegative voltage signal of differential voltage amplifier, gain stage713. Optionally, the gain of TIA 711B may be adjustable to furtheradjust gain. This voltage forms the negative voltage of a differentialvoltage signal at the output of gain stage 713.

In another example scenario, the photodiodes 707B and 707C may be amulti-input photodetector that outputs a photogenerated current from twoinput optical signals, thereby providing optical summing in theequalizer 700.

In this example, a one-tap precursor equalization is demonstrated wherethe summation is by voltage summing at the output gain stage 713, andthe weight control is via the directional couplers 703A and 703B,configured by phase modulators 710A and 710B, and precursor TIA 711Bgain. For example, the weighting may be configured by configuring thedirectional coupler 703A to have a small portion of the input opticalsignal λ_(main) coupled to the output waveguide 701C and most of theinput optical signal λ_(main) coupled to output waveguide 701B. Theoutput voltage may be processed, using software and/or hardware to thenadjust weight at various devices, such as the phase modulators 710A/710Band/or TIAs 711A/711B, for example.

Example advantages of this example scenario are that the voltage summingis accomplished conveniently in single-ended to differential conversionswith the single-ended TIA structure, the paths may be physicallyidentical for the main and precursor tap which facilitates delaymatching, it is compatible with optical summing, and weight can beadjusted with accurate splitting ratios of the directional couplers 703Aand 703B and accurate TIA 711A and 711B control.

In an example embodiment of the disclosure, a method and system isdescribed for waveguide delay based equalization with optical splittingin optical communication. The system may comprise an optoelectroniccircuit comprising an input waveguide, a directional coupler, an opticaldelay, photodetectors, a current mirror, and a transimpedance amplifier.

The optoelectronic circuit may be operable to receive an input opticalsignal via the input waveguide, split the input optical signal intofirst and second output signals using the directional coupler, delay thefirst output signal using the optical delay, convert the delayed firstoutput signal to a first electrical signal using a first photodetector,convert the second output signal to a second electrical signal using asecond photodetector, amplify the second electrical signal using thecurrent mirror, and sum the first and second electrical signals atinputs of the transimpedance amplifier to generate an output voltage.The optoelectronic circuit may be operable to split the second outputsignal into third and fourth output signals using a second directionalcoupler.

The optoelectronic circuit may be operable to delay the fourth opticalsignal using a second optical delay. The first and second photodetectorsmay comprise different input ports of a multi-port photodiode. Theoptoelectronic circuit may be operable to configure a splitting ratiobetween the first and second output signals using phase control in thedirectional coupler. The optoelectronic circuit may be operable toprovide equalization to the received input signal with optical weightingusing the optical delay and electrical weighting by controlling thecurrent mirror.

In another example embodiment of the disclosure, a method and system isdescribed for waveguide delay based equalization with optical splittingin optical communication. The system may comprise an optoelectroniccircuit comprising an input waveguide, a directional coupler, an opticaldelay, photodetectors, transimpedance amplifiers, and an output gainstage.

The optoelectronic circuit may be operable to receive an input opticalsignal via the input waveguide, split the input optical signal intofirst and second output signals using the directional coupler, delay thefirst output signal using the optical delay, convert the delayed firstoutput signal to a first electrical current using a first photodetector,convert the second output signal to a second electrical current using asecond photodetector, convert the first and second electrical currentsto first and second voltages using first and second transimpedanceamplifiers, and generate a differential output voltage based on thefirst and second voltages using the output gain stage.

The optoelectronic circuit may be operable to split the second outputsignal into third and fourth output signals using a second directionalcoupler. The optoelectronic circuit may be operable to delay the fourthoptical signal using a second optical delay. The first and secondphotodetectors may comprise different input ports of a multi-portphotodiode. The optoelectronic circuit may be operable to configure asplitting ratio between the first and second output signals using phasecontrol in the directional coupler. The optoelectronic circuit may beoperable to provide equalization to the received input signal withoptical weighting using the optical delay and electrical weighting bycontrolling the current mirror.

While the present disclosure has been described with reference tocertain embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the artthat various changes may be made and equivalents may be substitutedwithout departing from the scope of the present invention. In addition,many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation ormaterial to the teachings of the present invention without departingfrom its scope. Therefore, it is intended that the present invention notbe limited to the particular embodiment disclosed, but that the presentinvention will include all embodiments falling within the scope of theappended claims.

1. (canceled)
 2. A method for communication, the method comprising: inan optoelectronic circuit comprising a directional coupler, an opticaldelay, photodetectors, a current mirror, and a transimpedance amplifier:receiving an input optical signal at the directional coupler; splittingthe input optical signal into first and second output signals using thedirectional coupler; delaying the first output signal using the opticaldelay; converting the delayed first output signal to a first electricalsignal using a first photodetector; converting the second output signalto a second electrical signal using a second photodetector; amplifyingthe second electrical signal using the current mirror; and summing thefirst and second electrical signals at inputs of the transimpedanceamplifier to generate an output voltage.
 3. The method according toclaim 2, comprising splitting the second output signal into third andfourth output signals using a second directional coupler.
 4. The methodaccording to claim 3, comprising delaying the fourth optical signalusing a second optical delay.
 5. The method according to claim 2,wherein the first and second photodetectors comprise different inputports of a multi-port photodiode.
 6. The method according to claim 2,comprising configuring a splitting ratio between the first and secondoutput signals using phase control in the directional coupler.
 7. Themethod according to claim 2, comprising providing equalization to thereceived input optical signal using optical delay, optical weighting,and electrical weighting by controlling the current mirror.
 8. A systemfor communication, the system comprising: an optoelectronic circuitcomprising a directional coupler, an optical delay, photodetectors, acurrent mirror, and a transimpedance amplifier, the optoelectroniccircuit being operable to: receive an input optical signal at thedirectional coupler; split the input optical signal into first andsecond output signals using the directional coupler; delay the firstoutput signal using the optical delay; convert the delayed first outputsignal to a first electrical signal using a first photodetector; convertthe second output signal to a second electrical signal using a secondphotodetector; amplify the second electrical signal using the currentmirror; and sum the first and second electrical signals at inputs of thetransimpedance amplifier to generate an output voltage.
 9. The systemaccording to claim 8, wherein the optoelectronic circuit is operable tosplit the second output signal into third and fourth output signalsusing a second directional coupler.
 10. The system according to claim 9,wherein the optoelectronic circuit is operable to delay the fourthoptical signal using a second optical delay.
 11. The system according toclaim 8, wherein the first and second photodetectors comprise differentinput ports of a multi-port photodiode.
 12. The system according toclaim 8, wherein the optoelectronic circuit is operable to configure asplitting ratio between the first and second output signals using phasecontrol in the directional coupler.
 13. The system according to claim 8,wherein the optoelectronic circuit is operable to provide equalizationto the received input optical signal using optical delay, opticalweighting, and electrical weighting by controlling the current mirror.14. A method for communication, the method comprising: in anoptoelectronic circuit comprising a directional coupler, an opticaldelay, photodetectors, transimpedance amplifiers, and an output gainstage: receiving an input optical signal at the directional coupler;splitting the input optical signal into first and second output signalsusing the directional coupler; delaying the first output signal usingthe optical delay; converting the delayed first output signal to a firstelectrical current using a first photodetector; converting the secondoutput signal to a second electrical current using a secondphotodetector; converting the first and second electrical currents tofirst and second voltages using first and second transimpedanceamplifiers; and generating a differential output voltage based on thefirst and second voltages using the output gain stage.
 15. The methodaccording to claim 14, comprising splitting the second output signalinto third and fourth output signals using a second directional coupler.16. The method according to claim 15, comprising delaying the fourthoptical signal using a second optical delay.
 17. The method according toclaim 14, wherein the first and second photodetectors comprise differentinput ports of a multi-port photodiode.
 18. The method according toclaim 14, comprising configuring a splitting ratio between the first andsecond output signals using phase control in the directional coupler.19. The method according to claim 14, comprising providing equalizationto the received input optical signal using optical delay, opticalweighting, and electrical weighting.
 20. A system for communication, thesystem comprising: an optoelectronic circuit comprising a directionalcoupler, an optical delay, photodetectors, transimpedance amplifiers,and an output gain stage, the optoelectronic circuit being operable to:receive an input optical signal at the directional coupler; split theinput optical signal into first and second output signals using thedirectional coupler; delay the first output signal using the opticaldelay; convert the delayed first output signal to a first electricalcurrent using a first photodetector; convert the second output signal toa second electrical current using a second photodetector; convert thefirst and second electrical currents to first and second voltages usingfirst and second transimpedance amplifiers; and generate a differentialoutput voltage based on the first and second voltages using the outputgain stage.
 21. The system according to claim 20, wherein theoptoelectronic circuit is operable to split the second output signalinto third and fourth output signals using a second directional coupler.22. The system according to claim 21, wherein the optoelectronic circuitis operable to delay the fourth optical signal using a second opticaldelay.
 23. The system according to claim 20, wherein the first andsecond photodetectors comprise different input ports of a multi-portphotodiode.
 24. The system according to claim 20, wherein theoptoelectronic circuit is operable to configure a splitting ratiobetween the first and second output signals using phase control in thedirectional coupler.
 25. The system according to claim 20, wherein theoptoelectronic circuit is operable to provide equalization to thereceived input signal using optical delay, optical weighting, andelectrical weighting.